This paper concerns with unsteady incompressible flows around rectangular cylinders with side ratio varying from 1 to 10. Phenomenological aspects are discussed and numerical simulations are performed using a SIMPLEC finite volume code. A third-order QUICK scheme is employed for the advective terms in the Navier-Stokes equations, while a second-order fully implicit method is used for the time discretization. For validation purpose, preliminary simulations are carried out at Re = 300. Afterwards, the flow patterns and the wake periodic features are examined at Re = 1,000, 5,000, and 22,000, for which turbulent effects should not be neglected. In some of those cases, large-eddy simulation (LES) is employed, using the classical sub-grid Smagorinsky model. Important physical mechanisms determining vortex shedding frequency are placed in evidence. The present predictions are compared with numerical and experimental results from other works and a good agreement is reached.

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In this work, vortex shedding phenomenon produced by a square protuberance placed on a smooth flat wall is experimentally studied by means of flow visualization and hot-film anemometry. Qualitative and quantitative information have been obtained for Reynolds numbers up to 610.

Hydrocephalus is a pathophysiology due to the excess of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain ventricles and it can be caused by congenital defects, brain abnormalities, tumors, inflammations, infections, intracranial hemorrhage and others. Hydrocephalus can be followed by significant rise of intraventricular pressure due to the excess of production of cerebrospinalfluid over the absorption, resulting in a weakening of intellectual functions, serious neurological damage (decreased movement, sensation and functions), critical physical disabilities and even death. A procedure for treatment involves the placement of a ventricular catheter into the cerebral ventricles to divert/drain the cerebrospinal fluid flow to a bag outside of the patient body – provisory treatment known as external ventricular drainage (EVD). Another option is the permanent treatment, internal ventricular drainage (IVD), promoting the cerebrospinal fluid drainage to other body cavity, being more commonly the abdominal cavity. In both cases, EVD and IVD, it is necessary to use of some type of neurological valve in order to control the flow of cerebrospinal fluid. In the present work is proposed an experimental procedure to test the hydrodynamic behavior of a complete drainage system, or parts of them, in order to verify its performance when subjected to pressure gradients found in the human body. Results show that the method is well adapted to quantify the pressure drop in neurological systems.

Free jets have been utilized extensively in many industrial applications. In general jet fluid discharging from a nozzle develops flow oscillations in the shear layer. The oscillations will roll up to eventually become toroidal vortices which increase in size with the axial distance from the nozzle. In the present work, flow visualization as well as hot-film anemometry have been employed in order to study incompressible axisymmetric free jet in moderate Reynolds numbers up to 20,000. The injection of liquid dye or micro particles associated with a laser sheet turns possible to visualize the shear layers and, consequently, the vortex formation. Hot-film measurements into the jet allow determining the flow velocity profile. Flow visualization is a qualitative tool which a broad view of the flow topology. On the other hand, hot-film anemometry is a precise quantitative tool but measurement in only one location at a time. The association of flow visualization and hot-film anemometry shows very adequate for free jet studies.